Safety device for articulated cars



Patented July 12, 1927.

UNITED STATES FRANCIS MQF. BRINCKERHOFF,

PATENT OFFICE.

CAR COMPANY, FA PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA, A. CORPORATION 0F NEW IERI- BEY.

Application led Hay 2,

' preventing accidental excessive movement of one of saidy bodies relative to the other, and for preventing accidental excessive upward movement of one of said ends relative to the other and to the truck, and will thus revent the accidental separation of said bo i'es and will tend to maintain both of said endsin connected relation with the truck.

Another object o the invention is to provide a member having its ends connected together by removable means to form a loop adapted to cooperate with two adjacent bodies of an articulated car unit to prevent accidental separation of said bodies.

These and other objectsl will be apparent from the ollowing description.

Referring to the drawing in which like reference characters refer to like parts, Fig. l is a plan view of a ortion of a, railway articulated car embo ying 'the invention, a portion of the view being broken away to,v more clearly illustrate the invention; Fig. 2 is a sectional view of the `same taken on the line 2,-2'of Fig. 1.

Referringv now in detail to thedrawing, the-reference character 1 indicates one of the end portions of one body of a railway articulated car unit and 2 indicates one of the o end portions oat an adjacent body of the'car unit, it being understood that the car may comprise two or any other desired number of bodies, and that the connection betwe'en any two adjacent bodies `is substantially the same as hereinafter fully described.

Depending downwardlyV from the end portion 1 there is a bearing member 3 having a bearing surface 4 in the shape of a portion of a here and dependi downwardly from t 'e en rtion 2'of e ad'acent body there is a e member 3.- e bearing surfaces 4 cooperatewith a bearing surface 5 formed on a bearing member 6 on an adjacent truck 7. These bearing members forming a connection between the bodies and truck and described indetail in my pending application for U. S. Patent Ser. No. 176,864', filed March 21, 1927, for

8 may become 4broken so that one car may become separated from the adjacent.

SAFETY DEVICE FOR ARTICULATED CARS..

1927. serial No. 188,118.

Around theouter portionof the bearing surface 5, the bearingmember 6 has any upwardly extending flange 8 which is adapted to be engaged by the bearing portions 3, and by\ such engagement under normal conditions, the bodies are held against exceive longitudinal or sidewise movement. In the case ofa collision. or derailment the anfre body body or one or both bodies may become sep- OF SUFFERN, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TO PRESSED STEEL v arated from the truck and from each other,

vand to prevent. this, I provide a loop 9 which cooperates with two adjacent bodies of the car unit in such af manner that the bodies will not be permitted to become separated from each other. In the present embodiment of the invention this loop 9 preferably com'- prises' a metallic cable 10, the ends of which are connected together by a bolt 11 which may be removed when it is desired to mount the loop in its proper operative position on the car bodies or when it is desired to remove the loop from said bodies. This loop passes around the adjacent bearing portions 3 of both car bodies and is supported upon horizontally disposed brackets 12, w ich brackets are preferably integral with curved webs or stops 13which depend downwardly from the end portions of both of the car bodies. B the use of the bolt 11 for securing the en s of the loop together, itl will be seen that these ends, by the vremoval of the bolt, are readil disconnected and the cable can be remove from the car bodies. This form of loop member renders it possible to ap ly or remove the loop from integral brac be noted' that when the loop member 9 is mountedon the adjacent-ends of two car bodies that there is a clearance provided between the loop 9 andl stops 13 which is for the purpose of'permitting the bodies to swivel without any binding action taking place between the loop member and the sto s 13.

nder ordinaryA service conditions the loop 9'rests loosely on the brackets 12, thus permitting relative movement between the loop member and the brackets 12. Should a car equipped with the invention be derailed,

ets 12 on both car bodies. It will,

will not become separated from each other l due to the loop 9 engaging the stops 13 0n the bodies. Should one body move accidentally an excessive distance relative to the other, thevloop member 9 will engage the stopsel and the brackets l2, and as the loop member is thus in -engagement with both bodies, further movement is retarded by the weight of the body that is not moved, thi/1s the bearing portions of the bodies are kept from becoming separated -from the' ters Patent is:

1. A device for preventing the separation of the adjacent' ends of two bodies of an articulated car comprising a liexible member having its ends connected to form a loop, the connection between said ends being sep' arable.

2. In an articulated car comprising a plurality of car bodies, a stop on the end portion of each ofA said bodies, brackets on said stops extending outwardly therefrom, a loop member extending around said stops and loosely mounted on -said brackets, and removable means or connecting the ends of said loop member to form a loop.

3. In an articulated car comprising a plurality of car bodies, downwardly depending stops on the end portions of adjacent car bodies, a loop member passing around said stops, brackets on said stops adapted to prevent movement of said loop member, and removable means connecting the ends of said loop member.

4. In an articulated car comprising a plu-- rality of car bodies, downwardly depending stops on the end portions of adjacent car bodies, 'horizontally disposed brackets on said stops, a loop member extending around said stops and loosely mounted on -said brackets` said vbrackets extending beyond said loop member, and means whereby the ends of said loop member may be disconnected to remove said member from said brackets.

In testimony whereof I aiiix my signature.

FRANCIS MCF. BRINCKERHOFF. 

